Shortening is derived from the English term “shorten”, which means that the use of this oil to process biscuits, etc. can make the product very crisp, so the oil with this property is called “shortening”. It refers to refined animal and vegetable fats, hydrogenated oils or mixtures of the above fats, solid fats obtained by quenching and kneading, or solid or fluid oil products formed without quenching and kneading.

Shortening has processing properties such as plasticity and emulsification, and is generally not suitable for direct consumption. It is used to process cakes, breads or fried foods, so it must have good processing properties. The properties of shortening are different, and the production process is also different.

Since shortening is used as a raw material for food processing, its functional properties are particularly important, including plasticity, butteriness, shortening, emulsification, water absorption, etc.

Due to the continuous improvement of modern oil and fat processing technology, shortening products can meet a variety of requirements in the food industry and life, and the products can be classified from a variety of angles. 

There are vegetable shortening, animal shortening, and animal and plant shortening.

①Vegetable shortening–composed of hydrogenated vegetable oils in varying degrees.

② Animal shortening-such as lard.

③Animal and plant mixed shortening-composed of animal fat plus vegetable oil or slightly hydrogenated vegetable oil.

Manufacturing method

⑴. The raw material oil of fully hydrogenated shortening is all composed of different degrees of hydrogenated fats, and its oxidation stability is particularly good. However, due to the low content of natural unsaturated fatty acids, it has some influence on the nutritional value, and the price is also higher.

⑵. Mixed shortening hydrogenated oil (or highly saturated tallow) is added with a certain proportion of liquid oil as raw material oil. This kind of shortening has a wide plastic range, can be adjusted arbitrarily according to requirements, and the price is low.

(3) Transesterified shortening is made from transesterified fats and oils as raw materials. This kind of shortening maintains the nutritional value of the unsaturated fatty acids in the original fat.